Spoon
Transferance

Merge Records

The good thing about reviewing Spoon albums is that they are very consistent at what they do. What they do is create consistently quality indie rock n’ roll records every few years that sound fresh, lively and… Spoon-like for a lack of a better description.

The constants are there — Britt Daniel always manages to sound brash no matter what lyrics he is singing and the band is able to craft clean and modern compositions no matter what the tone of the current album is. The best example is the track, “Written In Reverse” in which it employs Britt’s vocals to perfection while showcasing their song writing abilities.

This album sounds more “traditional” rock n’ roll to me as they don’t stray very far from familiar rock rhythms, except for the usual tell-tale Spoon embellishments we’ve come to expect. In the track “Who Makes You Money”, the band employs a funky distortion that sets that song apart. But for the most part, they revel in just crafting memorable rock n’ roll songs.

For bands like Radiohead and the like, we expect a certain amount of innovation otherwise we consider their albums to be failures. I wonder if we’ve underestimated Spoon for so long now that their incremental and carefully measured innovation is kind of taken for granted and we’re satisfied at being slightly challenged each new album.

If that is the case — sign me up.

— Jack Tse